The Role Of Public Relations In Achieving Millennium Development Goals

Project and Seminar Material for Mass Communication

Abstract

This project comes up as a result of the observation made about ways that public relations can help to achieve the millennium development goals.

The millennium development goals are designed for the people in order to help eradicate immediate problems in our various environment yet people are not informed about the programme. This project will adopt public relations as one of the tools to use to convey the millennium development goals to the people. This research work will adopt stratified sampling we make use of this sampling method when we have heterogeneous or large non-related population which can be divided into a number of non-overlapping homogenous strata, then take a strata sample from each stratum.

The sample from each stratum shall be selected using simple random sampling. The population size for this study will be 100 people, selected in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria. Osogbo has been chosen to represent the whole due to limited resources and limited time.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

This project comes up as a result of the observation made about ways that public relations can help to achieve the millennium development goals.

Over the years, people are not aware of the millennium development goals, whereas government believes that they can do it all alone, which pose to bed impossible. This is what give birth to the interest of carrying people along with the strategies laid down by the government to achieve millennium development goals.

This project work will be beneficial to the genera public because all the goals are meant for them.

In a b id to improve the economic government all over the world came together to discuses over the economic situation of each country, where they discovered that the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. In view of this, they looked out for what really brings about the inequality and they finally reached eight problems which they tagged as goals.

This study over the years have not been looked into and that is why this project is aimed at enlighten people and give them insight on disturbing issues.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The focus of this research work is to dig into the roles of public relations in achieving the millennium development goals.

The Millennium Development Goals provides a platform to engage the development process in Nigeria and indeed the world at large. But in spite but this veritable potential of (MDGs) in enhancing development, there are limitations to utilizing the Millennium Development Goals as a framework for delivering or measuring development. This is sequel to the situation in Nigeria which indicates that there are challenges in meeting the goals by 2015. this is contained in the 2004 report which was Nigeria’s first report on the (MGD’s), which states that “based on available information, it is unlikely that the country will be able to meet most of the goals by 2015, especially the goals relating to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child and maternal mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases”. As such doubt is expressed about the viability of millennium development goals in rural areas. Hence the need to study the subject matter. The impact of Millennium Development Goals on the standard of living of rural dwellers.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine the the role of public relations in achieving millenium development goals. Specifically, the study aims

To examine the extent in which the people aware of the goals of the MDG’S.
To investigate the benefits derivable from the millennium development goals
To determine how public relations can be useful to achieve millennium development goals

1.4 Significance Of The Study

This research work will enlighten the general public on the government’s programme of making life on the comfortable for them through the millennium development goals. Also, it will help us look at the relevance of public relations in achieving the goals.

1.5 Scope of the Study

The area of coverage for this study will be Osun State due to the limited time and limited resources.

1.6 Research Questions

The questions this project tends to provide answers to are for the benefit of the general public. The questions are:

To what extent are the people aware of the goals of the MDG’S.
What are the benefits derivable from the millennium development goals?
To what extent can public relations be useful to achieve millennium development goals?

1.7 Definition of Terms

There are some words in this project work which must be defined for clear understanding!

Public Relations:

According to the most popular and widely accepted definition given by the British Institute of Journalism can be defined as “the deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG’S)

Are series of eight – time – bound development goals that seek to address issues of poverty, education, equality, health and the environment to be achieved by the year 2015. They were agreed upon by the international community at the United Nation’s Millennium summit, held in New York in September 2000.

The New Partnership For Africans Development (NEPAD):

The statistics of the African continent are graphically pathetic on issues of common concern. African’s constitutes 12% of the world population but its GDP consumption of global wealth amount to only 1%. Also, African is the most infested, in terms of HIV/AIDS, malaria, polio, typhoid, tuberculosis etc. In terms of political instability, 1 out of every 5 Africans is living under conditions of conflict. All these and more are what prompted key African leaders principally, the presidents of Nigeria, South African, Algeria, Senegal and Egypt to come up with NEPAD in year 2000.

The Nigerian’s National Economic Empowerment And Development Strategy (NEEDS):

This is Nigeria’s plan for prosperity. It is the people’s way of letting the government know what kind of Nigeria they wish to live in, now and in the future. It is the government way of letting the people know how it plans to overcome the deep and pervasive obstacles to progress that the government and people have identified. It is also a way of letting the international community know where Nigeria standard in the region and in the world and how it wishes to be supported.

Mutual Understanding:

It is the aim of public relations to achieve mutual understanding among its publics. This talks of a two-way communication system and effort, so that an organization may understand its publics, even as the public come to understand the organization, making it to deliberately an d continuously undertake converses of action that are in its public best interest.

Publics:

Public relations deals with relationship between an organization and its various publics. Public relations thus emphasis the need to ensure excellent relationship between an organization and all with whom it has to deal with and this include both internal and external publics.

Operational Plans

The research methodology that will be adopted in this study is survey method to gather the opinion of the people in this type of research work. The study will make use of questionnaire as an instrument for data collection.

Sampling Procedure

This research work will adopt stratified sampling we make use of this sampling method when we have heterogeneous or large non-related population which can be divided into a number of non-overlapping homogenous strata, then take a strata sample from each stratum. The sample from each stratum shall be selected using simple random sampling.

Population Of The Study

The population size for this study will be 100 people, selected in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria. Osogbo has been chosen to represent the whole due to limited resources and limited time.

Characteristics Of The Study Population

The selected population of this study shall comprise of men and women, students, work class and non working class, available.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

This study will be limited to the information from both primary and secondary sources of data collection. So, information gathered may not be applicable to the entire country. Also, the research work will be limited to academic use.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Summary

The study examines the role of public relation in Millennium Development Goals. The population of study consists of the entire people of Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria. Out of the total population, 100 were selected using the simple random selection sampling technique. The survey method was adopted as the research design. A questionnaire constitutes the main instrument of data collection. The mean score was used to analyze the five likert questionnaire inline with the research question. The analysis indicates that the MDG’s Goals that have been benefits people in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria by basically achieving primary education, reducing child mortality in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria as well as improving maternal health, however the problem militating against the achievement of other goals arise from corruption, inefficiency and wastefulness as well as Duplication of Project and Skeptics of meeting MDG’s Goals before 2015. it also found that public relation is useful in the achieving MDG’s Goals.

5.2 Conclusion

Base on the research findings it is clear that the MDG’s Goal have not been achieved in totality. It is only three basis roles that have been achieved in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria, Achieving primary education, reducing child mortality in Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria as well as improving maternal health. This is due the inability to efficiently implement project sequel to corruption and wastefulness of resources as well as duplication of project. Hence meeting the time lag of 2015 would not be realizable except if more effort is put in place.

5.2 Recommendations

Based on the findings the following recommendation is proffered and if adhered to will improve the performance of the Millennium Development Goals and facilitate the achievement of meeting their target of 2015.

MDG project be properly monitors and funds should not be given to individuals to undertake project. Fund should be given to firm’s handling project and such firms are monitors.
Duplication of project by Government and donor agency should be curtailed. This will enable more useful project to be executed instead of concentrating funds on a particular project.
Government should establish credible and efficient Institutions for proper public resource management, while the existing ones need to be strengthened in order to ensure effective utilization fund in MDG project.
Another important area that needs to invest its energy on to meet the MDGs targets is to reinforce its collaboration with development partners.
There should be transparency and accountability of all Institutions working with Government at all level in M.D.G projects. This will facilitate better implementation.

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